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The last period of the day prior to training was English, a class that Izuku always put extra effort into. It wasn’t that he didn’t like it, more so that the vocabulary didn’t always stick in his head. In fact, Izuku tried to learn at least a handful of phrases from as many languages as possible to set himself up for international relations in his future hero work. He simply always seemed to struggle with remembering the right word to say.
Izuku lifted his eyes away from his notebook to the chalkboard where Present Mic had scrawled out some definitions in his famously messy handwriting. The first one that caught his eye made him giggle quietly to himself.
Compliment
noun
“An expression of respect, affection, or admiration”
Izuku didn’t find compliments funny, or silly, or anything in that regard. Well, that is, when it was for someone else. The idea of a compliment in his direction was a strange, outlandish idea to Izuku. After a childhood of beratement from pretty much anyone that wasn’t his very kind, doting mother, compliments just seemed to exist for everyone that wasn’t Midoriya Izuku. At some point, he had simply accepted that he was someone not worthy of expressions of admiration. Perhaps, outside of his All-Might-centric desires, receiving a genuine compliment was a motivator for him to become the best hero he could be. To have someone say with their full chest that they appreciated and admired Izuku for being himself was too far-fetched, but maybe some praise for his work wouldn’t be too bad.
As the bell rang, Izuku packed away his belongings silently and headed towards the changeroom to prepare for whatever training Aizawa had planned for the rest of the day. If his uncharacteristically quiet demeanor raised any flags for his classmates, Izuku would be none the wiser, his focus stuck within his own little world.
Later on, in the common rooms of Heights Alliance, a study group of Izuku and his peers slowly formed as they reviewed the lessons of the day.
“Does anyone have all the vocab written down from English? I wrote everything but I can’t even read my own handwriting towards the end,” Kirishima said shyly, twisting his notebook around in front of him as if to decipher the right angle to read whatever code was on the paper.
“Yeah, what did you get up to legibly?” chimed Uraraka, leaning over.
“Commitment.”
“Next word is ‘compliment’ then, a noun meaning ‘an expression of respect, affection, or admiration.’”
“For example,” said Yaoyorozu, “Midoriya has quite beautiful eyes.”
Izuku’s eyes flew to the very kind smile directed his way from Yaoyorozu, his posture stiffening.
“You good, dude?” Kaminari questioned, eyebrows raised.
“Uh, yeah, um, thanks Yaoyorozu,” Izuku sputtered.
“You’re very welcome, Midoriya. Are you sure you’re alright? You seem frazzled,” Yaoyorozu asked. Izuku laughed nervously, hands rubbing at his neck. He wasn’t sure how to respond. He was thinking about maybe wanting a real compliment, sure, but he was never expecting one.
It was just an example, right? It wasn’t like it was a genuine thing and Momo is definitely not the kind of person to lie, or make things up. But this was Izuku, why would someone ever compliment him-
“I’m not sure Izuku’s comfortable with compliments,” Tzuyu began to explain, turning to the group. “It might be a bit uncomfortable for him to experience.”
Izuku looked around at his friends, waiting for an answer. His face and ears fully flushed with the high levels of discomfort he was experiencing. But these were his friends, people he trusted. Maybe he could try being a little bit vulnerable. Just to try.
With a deep breath, he responded, “Compliments really aren’t too common for me, I guess. It just feels a bit weird. I still really appreciate it! I swear!”
“My sincerest apologies, Izuku. I do mean what I say but I don’t mean to make you upset,” Momo apologized, her head low.
“No no no it’s fine I just-”
And then a rush of voices came in.
“Do you not think you deserve compliments?”
“Dude, are you okay?”
“Midoriya, we’re sorry we made you uncomfortable.”
“We’ll make sure to compliment you all the time!”
Izuku breathed heavily, avoiding eye contact with his peers. They meant well, they really did, but sometimes people's voices could just be so loud , and was his pulse always this fast? Maybe if he kept staring at his feet he could make the room stop spinning.
“I think we should call it a night for now. We’re really sorry, Midoriya, we shouldn’t have bombarded you like that,” Tsuyu said softly, quieting the cacophony within the common room.
Midoriya looked up to see a sea of sorry faces, all looking his way. After a quick wave of “I'm sorrys” from the group, Midoriya sighed with a soft, slightly unstable smile.
“It’s alright guys, really. I know you meant well.”
Each member of the group apologized directly to Izuku one more time before heading to their own respective rooms in the dorm. Izuku took in the now quiet atmosphere around him before closing his eyes and resting his head in his hands.
He was battling with the compliment from Momo. She was a genuine person, but was also just giving an example. He was sure that he was just the first person her eyes connected with when Momo was trying to think of an example of a compliment for Kirishima. He was sure of it. So while it was a real message, it was also a fleeting one.
Opening his eyes, Izuku went to reach for his backpack to head back to his room.
“Midoriya, may I speak with you for a moment?” came a voice from the entrance to the common room.
Izuku turned to see Todoroki walking towards him, his calm aura providing comfort after such a hectic disaster of a study session.
“Sure, Todoroki, what’s up?” he responded.
“I’d like to talk in your room, or my room, if that’s alright.”
“Sounds good,” Izuku threw on his backpack as he stood, “it’s been a long day.”
And if Todoroki’s eyebrows drew together in a sad expression of concern for a moment, Izuku didn’t notice.
“So what did you want to talk about, Todoroki?” Izuku asked, holding his door open for his friend.
“I saw what happened earlier while I was getting some tea,” Todoroki said, taking his shoes off as he entered Midoriya’s room. Izuku flinched for a moment as he gestured to his bed, inviting Todoroki to sit down.
“Oh, uh. You saw that, huh?”
“I did.”
“Not my best moment out there, eh?”
“Midoriya, I think you are well worthy of receiving compliments.”
“Todoroki, you really don’t have t-”
“Please sit down and hear me out, Midoriya.”
Izuku watched the floor as he sat down in his desk chair, facing Todoroki but making no eye contact. He couldn’t understand why he felt so afraid .
“Midoriya, why are you so uncomfortable with compliments? I would like to think that we are good friends, so you can trust me with whatever it is that is disturbing you so much.”
Midoriya watched as his fingers were pulled to the dead skin around his nails like magnets. He pulled and pulled for a few seconds, before gathering the courage to look up. He did not look into Todoroki’s eyes, instead opting to look at his mouth instead. It was a safe option, making it seem as if he was making eye contact without actually making the full commitment.
“Compliments weren’t exactly commonplace for me to be on the receiving end of.”
“Why not,” Todoroki paused, thinking, “Was it Bakugo?”
“You know how he is. He’s capable of compliments, even if they never sound like it at first.”
“So in part due to him, then.”
“Yes.”
“Then what else?”
“I told you before that I got my quirk really late, right? Before that, people weren’t exactly kind to me. They didn’t really have any reason to be either. With or without a quirk, I’m not much of a significant figure. I’m hardly worth the effort.”
“Complimenting you is not some hard feat. In fact, to me, it seems quite easy.”
“You’re funny.”
“Midoriya you’re admirably strong, and despite your lack of self preservation, I am in constant awe of your abilities.”
“Still so funny, Todoroki.”
“You’re a very kind person, and your existence is extremely inviting and warm.”
“Okay, that’s enough, Todoroki. I know you’re being sarcastic.”
Todoroki paused, his head tilted to the side.
“I enjoy being around you, Midoriya.”
“Okay you’re pushing it now, Todoroki, please. That’s enough.” Midoriya stood, walking to his door. “If you’re just going to be sarcastic, you can leave.”
Todoroki stared, his face scrunched ever so slightly.
“I hardly think I am joking to any degree, Midoriya. But if compliments are such a foreign concept to you, I can understand why you would be upset. I really do.”
Midoriya looked into Todoroki’s eyes this time, and could see a flash of pain, of remembrance of a horrible past.
Of course Todoroki could empathize, Izuku thought , he didn’t exactly have the most welcoming people surrounding him all the time either.
“I really need you to go right now, Todoroki. I just need to be on my own for a bit,” Izuku’s head returned to its downwards position, eyes fixed to the floor.
“Alright, if that’s what you need. I am always available to talk, Midoriya.”
“I know, I appreciate it.”
With that, Todoroki went to his room, and Izuku, finally alone, threw himself onto his bed.
Surely he was sarcastic. But then again, he knew what it was like to be surrounded by constant criticism and aggression. It’s like Yayorozu again. One one hand, they’re genuine. But on the other hand, why would they ever do this for him?
Izuku spent the rest of the night staring intently at his ceiling, thinking about the day’s events. He did not sleep, too busy consumed by the idea of his understanding of the world, the way people saw him, being changed.
After a Saturday full of contemplation and pacing, Midoriya emerged from his room to find the common room’s kitchen full of Sunday morning air and familiar voices.
“Midoriya! Still so sorry about Friday night, dude, that was a lot ,” Kirishima said, offering up a fist bump as an apology. Izuku greeted Kirishima’s fist with his, garnering a bright smile from his friend.
Izuku felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Momo and Tsu behind him, eyes slightly watery and mouth downturned.
“We would like to give a proper apology now that you’ve had a chance to breathe and decompress,” Momo started.
“I should have considered that doing that in a group setting would have been overwhelming, I really am sorry,” Tsuyu sniffled.
“It’s okay, and I really do appreciate and accept your apologies. I didn’t expect it to become so much , so I wouldn’t expect you to either. I promise,” Izuku smiled softly and genuinely.
After spending a day ruminating, Izuku accepted that he would have to learn that people really did care about him. That the lovely comments toward him were genuine and not just surface level. It was hard, and it would be easier said than done, but he would have to work on it.
With small bows, Tsuyu and Momo turned back to whatever it was they were doing before speaking with Izuku.
“Midoriya, are you feeling better?” Todoroki spoke, grabbing Izuku’s attention.
“Yeah, Todoroki, thank you. It still doesn’t feel right, not completely. But I’m going to work on it,” Izuku replied.
“That’s good.”
“Just stop me before I get a big head,” Izuku chucked.
“Why would accepting compliments make your head larger?” Todoroki asked, confused.
“It’s just a figure of speech, Todoroki.”
“Ah… Well, if you are to accept more compliments, and it will give you a big head, I must purchase you some large hats,” Todoroki smiled, pleased with his attempt at a joking reply.
The awkward reply earned a laugh from Izuku, one that made his smile spread from ear to ear and his eyes disappear. It made Todoroki smile in response.
“Your laugh is very beautiful, Midoriya,”Todoroki said.
“Thank you,” Izuku replied. “Hey, Todoroki?”
“Yes?”
“You can call me Izuku if you’d like.”
Todoroki stared, a small smile on his face. “I suppose then you could call me Shoto.”
“Sounds good, Shoto.”
“Izuku?”
“Yes?”
“You’re very nice, and you have an interesting taste in clothes.”
“I’m unsure if that last bit was supposed to be a compliment.”
“It was, I enjoy your t-shirt puns.”
“Thanks.”
“I also enjoy your hair, and your freckles. You’re also a very impressive strategic thinker on the battlefield. You also-”
“Shoto? Just a little at a time, please?”
“Alright, Izuku.”
“Thank you.”
The two made their way to the fresh pot of tea made by Momo, and poured themselves both a cup. Soft, cozy sunlight flooded the room as Izuku and Shoto enjoyed their lazy Sunday morning.